The Oyster World Rally is a Yachting festival for yachties’ from around the world on a circumnavigation visit to different countries. The fleet will make its first stop in South Africa at the Durban Marina Club from around 24 November to 09 December 2022. The Oyster Rally stop at the Marina will help the fleet’s crew to stock up on provisions and provide sight-seeing opportunities to game parks and other attractions.
The city’s economy will benefit from the arrival of tourists from abroad, but more importantly, it will enhance the city’s standing as a premier yachting location.
In preparation for the Oyster World Rally, the Durban Marina hosted the launching of the Marina Dredge on 29 October 2022 at the Point Yacht Club slipway. The aptly named Dredger Gumba Phansi meaning “to Dig Down” was launched by the Durban Port Captain Maltida Lekala and the Chairman of the Marina Mr. Nigel Milln.
The 450-berth Durban Marina, where the Point Yacht Club and Royal Natal Yacht Club are located, has an urgent need for dredging to remove a buildup of silt that has accumulated over the years.
The hulls of the catamaran craft were built in Giba Gorge by Calteag Industrial, according to Milln, who also finds time to lead the organizing committee for the annual Vasco da Gama Race between Durban and East London, chair the development organization Sail Africa, and participate in organizing the Mauritius to Durban Ocean Race.
“The planning and design of the dredger started in 2010 when members of the Board of Directors Mike Bennett and Keith Stewart decided that the port was unable to dredge the Marina due to the size and draft… that the Marina would have to build its own dredger”, wrote the Point Yacht Club.
They were married on the hardstanding at the marina along with the remaining parts of the vessel, which was trucked down to Durban and measures 12x4m and weighs 30 tons.
In cooperation with the city, the hopper will discharge dredged-up silt into a hole inside the harbor while being towed behind the shallow-bottomed Gumba Phansi. That will then be gathered and dumped into the ocean.